“Personalized cancer care” around the corner

Dr. Weeks’ Comment: One size does not fit all, and in cancer care, we focus on enhancing individual immune function with treatment protocols that help the patient her or himself fight cancer.

“Recognition of these correlations contributes to an improved ability to predict the efficacy of certain chemotherapies,” explains Prof. Dr. Axel Walch, Director of AAP. “It is possible that mitochondria, and/or their function enzymes, can be used in the future as biomarkers for personalised therapeutic approaches.”

Individual Efficacy of Chemotherapies

May 10, 2013 ”” The function of the mitochondria — also defined as “power plants” within the cells — is essential as to whether, and how, some chemotherapeutic agents take effect in tissue. Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum MÃ¼nchen have thus discovered a significant cell characteristic that could possibly predict the success of therapy.Their results will soon be published in the trade magazine The Journal of Pathology.

The response of cancer patients to a specific chemotherapy line can vary dramatically. The reasons for this are manifold and unknown for the most part. Scientists in the Analytical Pathology Department (AAP) of the Helmholtz Zentrum MÃ¼nchen have recently been successful in exposing a mechanism that is relevant to this phenomenon. Dr. Michaela Aichler and her colleagues have found out that the function of enzymes within the respiratory chain, which takes place in the mitochondria of cells, regulates the sensitivity of cells for cisplatin-based chemotherapeutic agents.

The scientists examined tissue, to this end, from tumours in the esophagus, stomach and chest of a total of 428 patients. By means of an image-guided procedure (the so-called MALDI-Imaging and LC-MS/MS), protein patterns within the cells were able to be established and the illustrated enzymes identified. These patterns of existing and/or missing enzyme functions were compared by the scientists with the clinical response of the patients to a chemotherapy line containing cisplatin. If a defect was present in the respiratory chain complex within the tumour cells — particularly in subunits of the specific cytochrome c oxidase (COX) — an improvement in the effect of the chemotherapy could be observed. This correlation was able to be additionally proved in subsequent experiments with the tissue samples. When the COX function was missing, a quicker cell death was noted with the introduction of cisplatin or other related treatments. Conversely, cells with an intact respiratory chain proved to be resistant to the administered substances.

“Recognition of these correlations contributes to an improved ability to predict the efficacy of certain chemotherapies,” explains Prof. Dr. Axel Walch, Director of AAP. “It is possible that mitochondria, and/or their function enzymes, can be used in the future as biomarkers for personalised therapeutic approaches.”

The focus of health research at the Helmholtz Zentrum MÃ¼nchen is placed on serious widespread diseases. This includes diabetes, lung diseases as well as cancer. It is the goal of the Helmholtz Zentrum MÃ¼nchen to quickly refine results from basic research to provide society with concrete benefits.

This web site is neither for advertising nor dispensing of medical advice. Clients who consult with Dr. Weeks receive information in an educational context in an effort to learn about optimizing care with their local health care practitioners. Dr. Weeks formerly practiced on Whidbey Island off the coast of Washington.

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Dr. Weeks’ Comment: One size does not fit all, and in cancer care, we focus on enhancing individual immune function with treatment protocols that help the patient her or himself fight cancer. “Recognition of these correlations contributes to an improved ability to predict the efficacy of certain chemotherapies,” explains Prof. Dr. Axel Walch, Director…